Harry Potter and the Longest Winter
by CrookedStepVMX
Summary: Book Seven. Voldemort is terrorizing wizard and muggle alike, Harry has to find 4 Horcruxes without Dumbledore to help him and he finds himself developing a new power. Six chapters are up!
1. Intro

I would like to thank the site for having the "write the first 1000 pages of book 7" contest and for the friends that urged me to continue with the story that was lying in the back of my head.

All characters owned by JK Rowling except for Horatio Dumbledore-Smythe, who is my own creation. 


	2. Chapter 1: Cold Hospitality

Chapter One: Cold Hospitality

Privet Drive glistened brightly at noon, white and quiet from the first snowfall of the year. Ice glistened on the sidewalks, threatening to send passer-by sprawling, however there were no passers to slip on it. The autos were all half buried under hard, compact snow, threatening a hard hour's work for any whom might want to drive them, however the cars remained buried, and would be for quite a long time. The tense calm lingering on the very air of the street was unusual, even for the hours after the worst blizzard of the year. The reason that the atmosphere was so tense, as well as the reason why all the windows on the houses of privet drive were boarded up was simple: It was the start of August.

Generally, the residents of privet drive detested anything out of the ordinary. However they were all too scared to be too indignant, and went about their daily business (locked of course, in the perceived safety of their homes) in a quiet manner, rarely speaking to eacch other. They were more frightened then they ever dreamed of being. Not frightened of the snow, but of the terrorist that said he would cause it, and did. The man who went by the name of Lord Voldemort, and caused terror with the magic they were all, as was the rest of the country, unwillingly aware of.

At number four, a solitary figure stood behind the frost-caked glass. A bespectacled young man with determination and desperation both etched onto every feature of his face. A man who left his boyhood behind not too long ago, and at the moment couldn't afford to look back. He brushed the hair on his forehead with his hand breifly, and if anyone had been bold enough to go outside, and bolder enough to walk accross the lawn to the window, they would see a livid scar, forked like lightning. This man was Harry Potter.

Harry had the feeling of early dawn, despite the clock on the wall reading just past noon. At noon there was supposed to be people walking on Privet Drive. Of course, he thought, there also wasn't supposed to be any snow on the ground, and it was supposed to be warm. Harry smiled to himself humourlessly. He sounded a bit like Uncle Vernon in his head, which he didn't approve of. Then there was a sound behind him, and he turned away from the window at last, and faced his best friend, Ron Weasley.

"Hey" Said Harry, trying to read his friend's expression. 

"Hey yourself. I needed a break, Harry. They might be too scared to say much, but your Aunt and Uncle can certainly glare a lot."

"Not surprised, honestly. As far as my uncle is concerned, none of us are wanted here, and I don't just mean the house, I mean the entire country."

Ron chuckled hollowly as he sank onto the couch. Harry walked over and sat down. "Where's Hermione?" he asked.

Ron smiled faintly. "Upstairs. Still sleeping. You'd never have believed it, would you? Imagine her, sleeping later than me? And until noon!" He smiled slightly wider, and then suddenly realized he was, and forced his face back into the strange expression he carried beforehand. This annoyed Harry, he felt that if people were afraid to smile or be happy in any way, then Voldemort had already won. 

Ron seemed to sense this, and let himself relax a bit. Sometimes he got used to trying not to smile around the unhospitable muggles in the house. "Of course," he added "She didn't get much sleep last night. We were up quite late, we were..." His eyes darted around, making sure they were still alone. 

"You were waiting up for Pig." he said. Pig was the small owl that Ron kept. 

"Yes, or Hedwig, either would be a pleasant sight at this point." Both owls had been sent out, one to Hogwarts and one to the house Harry owned in London. Although it was no longer a wise idea to send out owls since the death eaters had revealed themselves to a terrified muggle populace, they both felt it was a risk worth taking to hear from their friends and allies.

"You know, I didn't want to say anything before..." Ron begain. "But I had a thought that this might happen, our world being exposed to the muggles I mean. You-Know-Who...I mean...V-v-Vuh-Voldemort, he must be thrilled right now that there's no Dumbledore around to stop him." Harry looked at his shoes. The memory of Dumbledore's death was still so close to him. "That's not to say that he's right though!" said Ron, rallying immediately. He's forgotten about you hasn't he? I bet he figures that you're not a threat to him without Dumbledore, I bet he'll live just long enough to rergret that!"

Harry's head shot up, as a matter of fact his entire body did, as he stood erect. He didn't even realize he was standing. His features were suddenly hard. "I'll make him regret every choice he's made since he was eleven years old." Harry said this as a simple statement, but with a feirceness that emmanated not from his words, but from his presence. Ron looked up at Harry with something very much like amazement in his face. "You know harry, you're a lot like him. Like Dumbledore, I mean. Only V-Voldemort isn't smart enough to be afraid of you."

Harry smiled to himself. Ron was right, Voldemort should be afraid of him. However his breif inner triumph did not last, as they were suddenly jerked out of their mutual dazes by a rapid tapping at the window. "It's Pig!" declared Ron. As Ron still looked a bit too shocked to do more than goggle at the window, Harry got up and wrenched the window open (which proved to be difficult as it was practically frozen shut) and let Pigwidgeon in. Never short of energy, the tiny little owl flapped around Ron's head excidedly hooting. 

By the time Ron had managed to calm Pig down enough to grab the letter, Hermione had appeared, most likely due to all the noise. She yawned and looked over at the clock, frowning. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked, sitting down next to Ron. and stretching out for another yawn.

"Well, I didn't feel much like having my throat ripped out, I'm too young to die that way." Hermione gave him a half-amused look and then pointed at the letter. "Are you going to open that, then?" Ron hastily turned the letter over and looked at it. "Blimey! This is the letter we sent out, Harry! It wasn't even delivered!" He looked down at Pig, who was happily bouncing around on the carpet (Aunt Petunia would have screamed if she saw.) "What are you getting at, then? You're supposed to deliever this!" 

"Maybe he couldn't deliver it, Ron" said Hermione, looking over the letter, which was indeed the very letter they had sent out to London, still sealed. "I was afraid this might happen, I suspect that there might have been nobody there to deliver to. I mean, Dumbledore was the secret-keeper for the Order, wasn't he? I'm not sure that the house would be safe now that he's...gone." Ron looked disgruntled. "Why didn't you mention that before we sent the letter?" he demanded.

"Well I thought it was worth a try, and at least now we know that the order has moved elsewhere." 

"But where would they move their headquarters to?" Harry wondered aloud, more to himself than to the others.

"Well," begain Hermione "I'm sure we'll find that out when Hedwig returns. After all, you sent her to Hogwarts, didn't you? With both Professor Mcgonnagal and Hagrid in the order, I'm sure we'll be able to find out. Of course they probably won't tell us outright, it's not safe, but I'm sure that once we establish some sort of communication that we'll know, well, something." She heaved a sigh and then continued on a completely different note. "Is there anything to eat? I'm positively starving." Ron was giving her an amazed sort of look, as if he had never see her before. "You're something else, you know that Hermione? In less than a minute you've managed to set my mind at ease a bit and then make me realize how hungry I am." He stood up, saying "I think there's some cold chicken in the fridge. I'm sure Harry's aunt and uncle will mind us eating it..." "And I'm sure that I don't care" finished Harry, smiling. It had been a recurring joke they had devised in the few days they've been staying here. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon certainly did not approve of Harry being there, much less with two other magic-folk. But they remained too intimidated to do more than grumble, mostly when they believed all "weirdos" to be out of earshot. Their son Dudley Dursley, who didn't loath magic as much as he feared it, had remained hidden, which was quite a feat for such a large boy. Harry suspected that they could stay here all summer and not see Dudley at all, which suited him just fine. Except summer seemed to have already ended.

Ron returned with some cold chicken and slices of bread, most of which was snatched up immediately by Hermione, who tore off large bites and swallowed with such haste it was a wonder she didn't choke. "Honestly!" ron exclaimed. "You'd think that you've never eaten before!" He passed half of his meager share to Harry and continued to look at Hermione in a half-amazed, half-annoyed way. 

"We should leave." Harry said suddenly. Ron looked up with a bit of chicken skin dangling out of his mouth, his expression quickly changing to puzzlement. Hermione's hand darted forward and broke it off, however instead of snatching it towards her, she poked it into Ron's mouth. He gave a muffled "Thanks" and blushed deep scarlet. Harry inwardly rolled his eyes, Honestly, it was sometimes better when they fought. Or at least less embarrassing for him. When Ron finally composed himself and swallowed he asked "What, right now?"

"Well I daresay you can finish eating." Said harry "But we should leave after, we're not accomplishing anything here. We got a responce from Pig. I mean we didn't but, it was all the responce we needed, right? We could wait for Hedwig, but she's always been able to find me, no matter where I am. We ought to get to where my parents lived, Godric's Hollow."

Hermione, who seemed to have not eaten so much as devoured the food, wiped her mouth with one of Aunt Petunia's tea cozys and said "I think you're right. And to be honest, I can't stand this place much longer. I think I'd feel more welcome in a house of death eaters than around your family, Harry." "No offense though!" she added hastily. Harry waved his hand lazily. "You think that's bad, I've felt that way for all of my life, or at least all that I could remember."

"How are we going to get there?" Ron asked, seeming suddenly also very eager to leave. "I mean, we'll be apparating there, won't we? Can't use fire, as we don't know any fireplaces to go there," "And we can't fly" interjected Hermione "well maybe you could Harry, but if that blizzard starts up again..." Ron continued "So we'll have to apparate, right? But the problem is, we've never been there! You have to focus on where you're going!" Harry understood Ron's nervousness about Apparition. Disappearing from one place and appearing in another is quite a feat even under the best of conditions, much less going to a place unfamiliar.

"Don't worry, I've got it all worked out." Harry reached over to the coffee table, where he picked up the photo album he had since the end of his first year at Hogwarts. "We've never been there, but there's enough photos in here of my parents in the viliage to be able to do it. And I can help you two along, if needed. Ron and Hermione were both nodding, Hermione with approval and Ron with attentiveness. The way I figure it, I can't botch it up that badly, either it will work, or it won't. I think it will, and if it doesn't, we'll have to think of something else. But let's not worry about that at all. He slipped out a photograph of his mother, standing outside a house that he didn't remember. Harry supposed his father wasn't in the shot because he took the picture. His mother waved cheerfully at him as he placed the photo gingerly down on the table. 

Without needing to be told, Ron and Hermione gathered closer, strongly contemplating the photo. Harry concentrated with some difficulty not on his mother, but on her surroundings. He invisioned the quiet little villiage that they had lived in during Voldemort's first reign of terror. If he had looked up he would have seen his friends also concentrating, Ron gritting his teeth and a bead of nervous sweat arcing accross Hermione's forehead. 

He picked up the photograph gently, trying not to move it, trying not to break their concentration. He would want to take it with him, of course. He knew that if he left a picture of his mother here as he left, her sister would see it into the bin faster than you could say "magic". Almost instinctively, Hermione firmly grasped his arm, and he felt ron's arm encircle his other. He glanced up very briefly, his breathing quick and intense with his concentration, and saw that they were also holding on to each other. 

He closed his eyes. He saw in his head the place he yearned to go to. He thought of the countryside around the house, trying not to think of the house itself, as he knew it wouldn't be there. "On the count of three" he said in a barely audible whisper. 

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

And on the count of three he turned, pulling his friends through the void as they disapparated. 


	3. Chapter 2: Warm Reception

Chapter 2: Warm Reception

When he was finally able to breathe, Harry let air into his lungs slowly, tentatively. The air was crisp and cold. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He saw Ron and Hermione both shuddering and gasping. Apparition took a lot out of you when you're dragged along. 

"Blimey! Ron gasped. I don't think you're supposed to take two people along, Harry. I feel like I've been crammed under a door! Did it work, are we there?"

"I dont know" Harry replied. He saw nothing but trees. He started to look around for some sort of landmark when he heard Hermione yell out his name. "Harry, Look!" he followed his gaze to where she was pointing and saw an almost-familiar sight. It was the copse of trees that enclosed the small clearing where his parents house once stood. A smaller, more meager dwelling stood there now. The dirt road that went past it had overgrown with weeds. It took Harry a second to see what was wrong with the scene, and when he did he took in a sharp intake of breath. This wasn't at all what he had expected.

Ron had seen it too by now and turned to Harry "What do you think caused that Harry?" Harry shook his head, he didn't know. He realized that there was nothing wrong with what he was seeing, but rather something right. A few feet from where they had apparated, the harsh winter that had swept over Britain ended. As if a small bubble of summer had been preserved, the trees remaining green, the grass remaining full and uncovered. He knew that once he stepped into this strange aura, it would be warm, it would be right.

"Is this a spell?" Hermione wondered, stepping towards it. They all were walking towards the warmth now, they couldn't feel it as they moved towards it, they knew the temperature change would be sudden, and drastic.

"I don't think so..." Harry muttered, "I think it's more like...like the winter never reached here. Like Voldemort's power is useless. They had stepped to the brim of the bubble, for harry saw that it was indeed round, with the small dwelling slightly off the center of the warm patch. It domed overhead, and harry saw the tallest trees had snow at the tops, but birds sang happily in the lower branches. Harry reached out his hand, knowing that something this wonderful had to be safe. He felt his hand slip into the clearing, he felt the sun's warm rays beating down. He stepped forward, stripping off the sweater he was wearing, and slinging it over his shoulder. he turned and saw Ron and Hermione following him, doing the same. 

"Bloody hell, it's hot." said Ron, although he had a big grin on his face. "I tell you, if it weren't for this blizzard, we'd probably be complaining about the heat!" 

"I'm not complaining, this is wonderful!" said Hermione. 

Just then, a voice called out, startling them all. 

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter!"

Harry turned towards the small shack, his hand edging towards his wand. He thought that this was a safe place, but having been startled, he decided not to take a chance.

"No need for that, Mr. Potter! I mean none of you harm. Why don't you come inside, Tea is almost up!" He was a tall man not much older than Harry, he looked to be about 25 or so. he had flaming red hair like Ron's but it was rather long, reaching down to his back. His features were bold, with a prominent chin and steel-like blue eyes. He was dressed in wizard's robes, rather more elegant than the meager hut he was standing in front of. Harry got the impression that his wardrobe might have cost about as much as the house, which looked about the same size as Hagrid's hut, only slightly larger, and made of stone. Silver stars and moons glittered on his robes, and as he reached inside them and took out a pair of half-moon spectacles, harry couldn't help but feel a very strong pang of grief. He was reminded very strongly of Dumbledore.

Harry edged forward slightly, still keeping his hand near his wand, just in case. As he approached, the man held out his hand, and harry shook it, the man's firm grip almost crushing him. The stranger smiled and then bowed to the three of them. "I am terribly sorry, but I haven't introduced myself. I was rather expecting you a bit earlier than this. My name is Horatio, Horatio Dumbledore-Smythe. Charmed, I am sure."

"You're related to Dumbledore?" Hermione stepped forward and took a closer look at the man, scrutinizing his features. Under other circumstances, her narrowed gaze of appraisal might have been considered rude, but the man laughed heartily. "Unfortunately, not by blood, although the man never put too much store into those ties. He was my grandfather, after a fashion. If you'll come in, we can have a spot of tea, and I'll gladly explaing everything to you, Miss Granger."

"How do you know our names?" asked Ron. He most definately was referring to himself and Hermione, as almost everyone in the wizarding wordl knew who Harry was.

"Oh, grandfather told me about all his students. And like I told you, I've been expecting you. Now, come! I have some sandwhiches laid out, and I'm sure you wouldn't say no to a spot of the old firewhiskey!" With that he turned and swept into his house, leaving the door open.

As he stepped in, Harry was strongly reminded of events three years past, when he had attended the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys and Hermione. They had stayed in a rather expansive tent that looked very small from the outside. The inside of the small stone shack was expansive, it was clearly bewitched to appear smaller from the outside. Harry also realized that his initial impression was wrong, it wasn't decadent, but it also wasn't shabby. Horatio had clearly struck a balance between an appearance of wealth and good taste, and a comfortable, homely setting.

Above the mantle was a large portrait of Dumbledore, that smiled genially down at him. Harry felt another pang of grief. Was this man really Dumbledore's grandson? Accross from the portrait was a large scarlet banner, emblazoned with a golden lion. The image of the lion shimmered as it moved accross the banner, rippling with the folds in the cloth as it proudly surveyed it's woven domain.

"Is that a Gryffindor Lion?" Asked Ron, whose eyes seemed to be drinking in every detail. 

"Oh yes! Said Horatio as he gestured for them to sit at the table, Harry sat down and felt his stomach grumble. He had eaten a bit before, but it wasn't really enough. He thought Hermione was the only one who got any real amount of food.

"Grandfather gave me the banner as a graduation gift, after I left hogwarts, you see. That was about two years before you showed up, Mr. Potter."

"Harry." He corrected. This whole "Mr. Potter" thing was a bit much, that was his father, not him. Even if his father had died before he could remember, he wasn't quite ready to be "Mr. Potter" yet.

"Harry, then. And please, call me Horatio. I'm sure grandfather never told you, as he didn't ever feel the need to boast about anything, but our family are the survivinig heirs of Godric Gryffindor." he said this plainly, as you might say something completely ordinary. Harry marveled at how the heir of Gryffindor didn't seem to think that being that very thing was such a big deal. Not compared to Voldemort, who was the heir of Slytherin.

"I didn't know that Dumbledore was ever married." said Ron between mouthfulls.

"You did say that you weren't related by blood, didn't you?" Asked Hermione. It was obvious that she was still a bit leery of Horatio.

"No, not by blood, but as I said, my grandfather never thought that was very important." Turning to Ron, he said "You are right though in your original assumption, Mr. Weasley."

"It's Ron." Said Ron, a bit of a smile at the edge of his mouth. "Ah, you lot are so informal, I can see why grandfather took such a liking to you. Anyway, no, he was never married. One could go so far as to say he was married to the school. Hogwarts, that is. He showed so much dedication to the school that it would be a wonder if any woman would put up with him, at least that's how he said it." He smiled wistfully, but Harry saw a tinge of greif in his eyes. Harry thought Dumbledore's death was hard on him, he could only imagine.

"Anyway, although grandfather never married he did have a daughter, that is to say, an adopted daughter. That was my mother, she passed away some years ago, though, she was terribly sick. Grandfather always told me that ties of love were more important than ties of blood, and he considered my mother and I to be family. That made us Gryffindor's heirs also, as Gryffindor also never set much store in ties of blood, that was the argument that caused a rift between him and his old friend, Salazar Slytherin."

"And that fued is still going today." Said Harry. "Except...it's me that's up against Voldemort." Harry thought that this was a bit ironic, that Gryffindor had living heirs, but the burden had been passed to him.

"Ah Harry, you haven't thought it out fully" said Horatio. You see, My grandfather considered you to be his adopted son!"

There was a choking noise as Ron swallowed a bit of sandwhich badly. Hermione gave him a whack on the back and he sputtered. "Does that mean Harry is your uncle then?" he asked, taking a rather large gulp of firewhiskey. "I mean, you're a bit older, right? You left Hogwarts before harry was even there!"

Horatio smiled again. "Well, I guess you could say that, the point is though, that grandfather's regard for harry was very strong. Harry is just as much the heir of Gryffindor as I am." 


	4. Chapter 3: The Heir of Gryffindor

Chapter 3: The Heir of Gryffindor

In the long silence that followed, Harry stood up from the table and walked to the window. He looked out and saw that beyond their bubble of warmth, snow had started to fall again. It ceratinly wasn't anything like the blizzard that preceded, light flakes were floating gently down to the snow-caked ground. 

The Heir of Gryffindor, he thought to himself. It seemed too much to believe, not very many years ago he found himself having a hard time believing that he was even a wizard. Harry dimly thought about the prophecy, and whether that figured into this at all. He thought better of it after not very long, the prophecy had been made before he had been born, and it seems that he hadn't been born Gryffindor's heir, but somehow became so through the ancient magic that Dumbledore had claimed was the most powerful of all.

He leaned his head against Horatio's window, tears stung his eyes. He had never realized that Dumbledore had cared for him enough to call him son, even if it was only to himself that he did so. Part of him wished Dumbledore had told him this, but another part of him knew that it would only have made letting go that much harder...

Harry had always felt that he was born into having a lot to live up to, and that definately hadn't changed. He was glad that nobody knew about this, he didn't think he could bear people knowing that somehow along the course of his life he had become Gryffindor's heir. 

When he finally turned around, he saw the table empty. Looking around he saw that Horatio was busying himself with the dishes at the sink, and that Ron and Hermione were helping him. He walked over to the table and sat down, putting his head in his hands and breathing heavily. He no longer felt like weeping, but rather felt an incredible pressure in his chest, as though he was lying prone and Voldemort himself was leaning on him, with his foot on his chest, laughing.

When he looked up again, it was up at Dumbledore's portrait. Harry remembered the portraits in Dumbledore's office, and how they had been able to talk. He wondered if he would be able to speak with Dumbledore through this portrait. He walked over, so as to be able to keep his voice low. He looked up and said in a half-whisper "Err...Sir? Professor Dumbledore? Can you...can you hear me?"

Nothing. Dumbledore continued to smile down at him from the portrait, but did not say a word or give any indication that he had heard. Harry thought he should try again "Sir? If you can hear me...please...I need to talk to you." Once again, the portrait continued to say nothing. He thought of all the other portraits that spoke, the ones in Hogwarts, the ones at Saint Mungos, the ones at Number 12, Grimmauld place. Why could they all speak, but this one couldn't?

Harry felt himself becoming angry. Of course the portrait could speak, he had yet to see a wizard portrait that didn't speak. Why was Dumbledore refusing to speak with him? Didn't he realize that he had left Harry more alone than he had ever been? Couldn't he tell that Harry would be helpless without him, that there was no possible way he could continue? He felt foolish and angry with himself as well. Chosen one, indeed! How could he have been so stupid as to believe that he could find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes without Dumbledore's guidance? How dare Dumbledore die, when the job wasn't done! 

Harry felt his face screw up and his fists clench. He didn't want to be angry with himself or with Dumbledore but the emotion washed over him regardless. It seemed to build within him without any end. He hadn't felt this angry since Sirius died. The thought of his dead godfather finally drove harry to the point where he could no longer remain silent. How was he supposed to live up to the name of Gryffindor when he had spent 11 years not knowing of magic? How could he destroy Voldemort when everybody around him seemed to die?

Harry let out a sudden cry of rage and pain and grabbed the first handy object and hurled it accross the room suddenly, letting out another cry that he himself didn't hear. He wanted to strike out at his surroundings, he felt as if he had gone insane. He suddenly realized that he had drawn out his wand and was hurling curses at the overstuffed sofa. He dimly heard his voice, cracking and hoarse, yelling out "SECTUMSEMPRA! SECTUMSEMPRA! SECTUMSEMPRA!" Stuffing flew everywhere as gashes appeared in the furniture. He threw his wand down with such force that it scorched the carpet, and went to wipe his face with his sleeve as he reeled around, looking for something else to throw. 

Nothing small caught his eye, so he grabbed one of the heavy chairs and flung it hard. It went through a window, and he heard it bounce on the ground outside. He then ran over to a lamp and kicked it over. He suddenly wanted his wand again, he wasn't quite done. He looked around frantically, trying to find it and stumbling over himself. 

He once again caught sight of Dumbledore's portrait. Still the same benign smile, the same twinkling eyes. His rampage had no effect at all. This made him even angrier, but also filled him with a deep remorse that he couldn't bear. He suddenly sank to his knees and cried out one last time, he felt his arms outstretch and his legs cramp up as they also tried to piston outwards. His scream pounded in his ears, he felt like he had damaged them. He also felt like he damaged his voice, as he ran out of breath it became nothing more than a rattle. He was dimly aware of jets of light streaming around the house, hitting everything. Was someone trying to stun him? They didn't have very good aim, he thought. 

As everything started to go black, he realized that nobody could have that bad aim, the stunner spells must be coming from him. Guess I don't need my wand to cause some trouble he thought dimly as he blacked out.

When he came to, it was darker in the room. He was looking up at the ceiling peacefully when he suddenly remembered how he had come to be on the floor and sat up suddenly, feeling terribly guilty. He looked around wildly and saw that the room looked pristine, event he chair he had thrown was back in it's original spot, the window he had thrown it through mended. As he spun his head around he felt lightheaded and laid back down, his head swimming. Suddenly he felt a cool wetness on his forehead, he opened his eyes again and saw that Hermione was dabbing at his face with a wet cloth. It filled his heart with emotion to see that her face showed not fear, but concern.

"Thank you" he muttered, his throat aching. He was barely able to talk and his words came out as a croak. He looked past her and once again saw the portrait of Dumbledore. Dumbledore continued to smile at him, and he gave harry the briefest of nods. Harry laughed silently, his shoulder's shaking. He was suddenly reminded of a time when he had destroyed Dumbledore's office in another rampage. He thought hollowly that at this rate, if anybody else he cared for died, he might just blow up the entire country. 

He sat up again and then slowly got to his feet. Horatio and Ron were sitting on the sofa, looking at him. Ron looked worried, Horatio however, was smiling. This last bit surprised Harry, he had destroyed the man's personal possessions. As if reading his thoughts, Horatio held up his hand in a sort of offhand warding gesture and said "Don't worry about it, Harry. I expected it, why do you think I cleared out of the room so quickly? Grandfather told me about what happened when you lost your godfather. Believe me when I tell you that I understand. After I heard news of grandfather's death, this area was a crater. Luckily enough I didn't hurt anyone."

"I'm still sorry though, there was no excuse..." Harry trailed off.

"You did magic without your wand!" piped Ron. "Not just random things but you were sending stunners everywhere. I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I." Harry sat down on one of the chairs, he saw Hermione go over to the sofa and sit down between Ron and Horatio. "How long was I out?" he asked suddenly, wondering at the darkened sky.

"Oh, a few hours" said Horatio. "It's just about four, I could have woken you up, but I felt you most likely needed the extra rest."

Harry was quiet for a bit, and then he croaked out "I've been thinking.."

"Hang on" said Hermione. She produced her wand and pointed it at Harry's throat and muttered "Chloraseptara." His throat felt instantly better. 

"You'll probably want this back, also" said Ron, who tossed Harry his wand.

"Thanks" He sounded like himself again.

"Err, well...I was thinking. At first I was angry, because it seemed like I'd never be able to do this on my own." He saw Ron and Hermione both shoot him looks that very clearly told him that he wasn't on his own. To show that he got the point, he continued "Yes, I know. But anyway, I was thinking that I wouldn't be able to carry on like this, without Dumbledore. He was telling me everything, about the Horcruxes and all. But I'm realizing that if I don't do it, nobody else will. And well...that may be a bit much for a bloke to swallow but, you know what? If I'm the heir of Gryffindor, I reckon I'm at least brave enough to try."

Horatio's smile widened. "I thought so, Harry. Now I wanted to talk to you alone, but I'm willing to bet that you'd want your friends in on this, correct?"

"Right" Harry responded. It was amazing, he felt like a new man. 

"Well, while you were out, we did a bit of talking on our own, and Ron and Hermione told me about the letter from R.A.B."

"Do you know who he is?" asked Harry eagerly.

"I'm afriad not, but I did have an idea that might help us figure out who he was. Judging by his intimate knowledge of the Dark Lord and his Horcruxes, you will find that he was most definately a Death Eater. Coupled with the fact that he went against Voldemort and the contents of that note, I'd say he's probably dead. So you should look at Death Eaters who are dead, possibly killed by Voldemort himself, or on his orders. Of course there were quite a few, Voldermort, as you know, shows as little mercy to his followers as he does to his victims. But I thought it might help you narrow it down."

"Yeah, actually Horatio, those are some really good ideas..." harry begain but he interrupted himself when he saw the look on Hermione's face.

Ron noticed too, he turned to her and said "What? You know don't you, you've just figured it out right now! Well don't do what you usually do, actually tell us this time before running off to a library or getting yourself petrified."

She spared Ron an eye-roll before speaking. "I"m not totally sure, Harry but I've just realized that there is someone who fits that description...and you know of him too!"

Harry did a hand-twirling gesture, silently begging her to continue. He had moved to the edge of his seat in excitement.

"Of course, I don't know if he's an R.A.B. completely, becuase I dont' know his middle name and..."

She was interrupted by Ron who half-shouted "Just say the name Hermione, I know you enjoy keeping us in suspsence, but this is sort of important!"

"Black!" she shouted "Regulus Black!" 


	5. Chapter 4: A Sort Of Homecoming

Chapter 4: A Sort Of Homecoming

Harry's eyes widened in shock. How could he have not realized it? Sirius had told him, standing before the mural of the Black Family Tree, how his brother Regulus had joined the Death Eaters, but later changed his mind, and was killed by Voldemort. "Then the locket must be at Number 12, Grimmauld place!" he exclaimed. However Ron looked crestfallen. "Probably not anymore, Harry" he said "We cleaned out all the old Black family stuff, remember? Bloody hell, I think I even remember the locket now that you mention it, it had a snake on it?"

"Yes, that's it! That's Slytherin's mark!" Harry shouted, bounding to his feet!

Ron looked slightly apologetic "Remember we coudln't open it? We chucked it Harry, It could be anywhere now."

Harry's eyes fell, he then turned to Hermione, silently begging her to figure something out. She pressed her fingers to her temples and thought hard, trying to remember. Pity that we don't have a pensieve Harry thought to himself. He could see now how that tool had been invaluable for Dumbledore's studies into voldemort's past. "I remember the locket..." Hermione trailed off "It did have that snake symbol on it...Of course none of us then thought anything of it, the lot of Sirius' family were in Slytherin...It must have been thrown out." She then turned to Ron. "Where does wizard rubbish go?"

"In the bin!" said Ron, looking at her as though he worried for her health.

"No, Ronald. I mean afterwards. For example in the muggle world, dust collectors come and take the bins and empty them out somewhere else."

"Blimey, doesn't it add up? Ours just disappears. Magic, you know? Once something is gone, it's gone."

"Then might you not consider this Horcrux to be destroyed?" said Horatio, speaking after a long silence.

"No." Said Harry "I reckon that no garbade disposal spell could have destroyed a Horcrux. We couldn't even open the locket, I doubt an everyday spell could have destroyed it. It must still be in the house." He sounded bracing, though he didn't even fool himself into believing he was trying to convince them more than himself.

"Then we'd better get going and see" said Hermione, a tone of warning in her voice. "Because that house isn't safe anymore, with Dumbledore gone, the Death Eaters could have ransacked it at anytime, I mean with no secret keeper, Snape could have told Voldemort personally where headquarters was located, and if he knew that a Horcrux was there, he'd be sure to want to recover it!"

"He doesn't know there's one, though." Said Horatio "If it was Regulus, and I'm inclined to agree with you that it probably was, judging from the note left in the fake locket, I'd say that Voldemort remains blissfully unaware that his Horcrux was ever disturbed. That's not to say that it would remain safe there for long, however."

"When let's go!" Harry walked over, ready to assist Ron and Hermione in apparating. Horatio held up his hand and said "Ah, Harry, if you'd just wait one moment, there's something I'd like you to do for me before you go.

"Anything." said Harry readily. Even though the damage had been repaired and Horatio didn't seem angry at all, Harry still felt bad about destroying the man's house.

"As Miss Granger so smartly pointed out, there's not very many safe places left. Number 12, Grimmauld place is no longer a secret, you can bank on that. Hogwarts, while generally safer than most places, is not the stronghold it once was. And your Aunt and Uncle's house won't protect you anymore now that you've come of age. I aim to fix this. This house must be a safe place for you to come to, and I would very much like you to return once you have obtained the Horcrux, I can help you verify it and destroy it." 

With these words, Hermione looked a bit uneasy. Harry could tell that for whatever reason, she didn't completely trust Horatio. 

"With that in mind, I would like to protect this house, and make it a safer place. As you've no doubt noticed, there already is some protection here. voldemort's winter cannot touch this area, this is due to your own power Harry, the residue of the magic that transpired here sixteen years ago." He took his wand out with a twirling motion, it happened so quickly that it seemed instataneous. "I am going to make you secret-keeper for this place Harry. Nobody will be able to find this location, unless you tell them where it is."

With this said, he took out two small scraps of parchment and a quill and ink bottle, and handed them to Harry. "Write down the location twice, you can give these to Ron and Miss Granger here, I think we know that they are trustworthy. As harry gathered together the writing implements he thought dully what Horatio would think of the fact that Hermione didn't seem to think he was trustworthy. He quickly wrote down "The House of Horatio Dumbledore-Smythe is located at the former location of the Potter House, Gordic's Hollow" He thought that would be sufficient, as Horatio's house did not seem to have a proper address, as the road running by it was unused and overgrown. He handed the slips to Horatio first, who taped them with his wand, muttering. He then handed them back to Harry. "It has to be you that gives it to them." Harry nodded and handed Ron and Hermione each a slip, who read it and nodded. 

Horatio than took his wand and pointed it at Harry. Harry could see that Hermione had her hand on her own wand, ready to strike if something went wrong. Horatio muttered a long, inaudible incantatio under his breath. There was no visible sign of magic, but it must have worked, as Horatio smiled and put his wand away. "Safe as we can be there, Harry. Now I suggest you lot get a move on."

"Ready?" Harry looked imploringly at his friends, who quickly got up. They joined hands again. "Let's concentrate on the drawing room" said Ron. Harry and Hermione nodded. They closed their eyes and visualized the location. This would be a lot easier, thought Harry. Then he pulled them and turned, Disapparating on the spot with a loud crack.

When he opened his eyes they were in what used to be the drawing room of Sirius' house. It was now the wreckage of the drawing room of his house. He heard Hermione gasp and ron say "Bloody Hell" It was obvious that this place was once already visited by the Death Eaters, or even possibly by Voldemort himself. 

"I doubt it'll be here..." began Ron. Hermione finished his sentence "But we should look anyway."

As Harry suspected, they didn't find anything. Anything having to do with the Black family was either gone or completely destroyed, including the portrait of Sirius' mother that had seemed impossible to remove. Also gone was anything relating to The Order of the Pheonix, although Harry hoped that was because they managed to clear everything out after Dumbledore died.

It was starting to seem as though they had wasted their time, when suddenly a loud tapping sound filled the air. Harry jumped, Ron cursed and Hermione let out a small scream. They all drew their wands and looked wildly around for the source of the sound.

"Hedwig!" shouted Harry, running over to the window. Ron and Hermione sighed with relief and dropped their wands. Hedwig was indeed an extremely smart bird, they had barely been there for an few hours and she had found Harry here. He let her in the window, and she dutifully dropped a letter on his head. He was delighted to see that it wasn't the same letter he had sent out, returned.

"She's brought an answer!" he whispered frantically, and they all gathered around as he sat down on the ruined sofa and slit it open. "It's from Lupin!" he exclaimed, still whispering for no apparent reason. 

"Blimey" said Ron. "You think the Order have set up at Hogwarts?

"Shush, Ron." said Hermione "Let him read!

Scarhead,

I have to keep this short and nondescript for obvious reasons. I trust you'll be able to understand what I say. We are you-know-where and all quite safe. They are going to be reading a will here and I think it might be nice if you showed up and brought a friend or two. I'll be at the top of bacon, find me and we'll catch up on old times.

Your Friend, Moony 

"Scarhead?" Ron blurted out, bewildered. "And 'top of bacon' is he taking the mickey?"

"No, I suspect he's trying to keep it anonymous in case Hedwig got intercepted. I suspect the Death Eaters are intercepting as many owls as they can these days." said Harry.

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" Ron seemed put out, it was clear that the letter was a huge disappointment to him.

"Well..." Harry thought carefully. "I suspect that 'you know where' is Hogwarts, since that's where we went Hedwig. You were right, I think the Order has set up shop there. This business about a will must be about Dumbledore, they've probably found his will and he wants us to come for the reading. That might be rubbish, or just a cover to get us there though. But this 'top of bacon' business, I...I haven't the foggiest!" He felt as if he should be annoyed but was actually momentarily thrilled just to have the letter.

Both of them turned expectantly to Hermione. "Oh, honestly!" she said. "If you two learned to think for yourselves once in a while you wouldn't always be needing me to explain everything!"

"But you can explain it, can't you?" asked Ron.

"Yes, yes. He's talking about the Hog's Head. You know, bacon...hog. The top...the head? Lupin wants us to come to that pub."

"That place?" Ron seemed disgusted. "That place has been nothing but trouble! First Snape overheard the prophecy there, and then we nearly got busted setting up the DA there, why in the world couldn't we meet at The Three Broomsticks?"

It was Harry who offered up an explanation this time. "I suspect it's probably out of business. After all, It was Madam Rosmerta who Imperiused Katie last year and gave her that cursed necklass. And of course she also poisoned that wine that was meant for Dumbledore, you nearly got killed when you drank some. And she let the Death Eaters into her shop so they could transport to Hogwarts." He said this matter-of-factly.

"But she was under the Imperius curse!" Yelled ron, smacking his fist against his palm. "Surely they wouldn't lock her up for something she couldn't control, right?"

"I'm not so sure of that, Ron." said Hermione. "They locked up Stan Shunpike just for running his mouth about the Death Eaters and there's not a shred of evidence that he's done anything wrong. 

"Exactly." said Harry bitterly. "They want to make it seem like they're doing something, the ministry. If they arrest loads of people who are either innocent or who were bewtiched, it looks a lot better than arresting nobody. After all, Scrimgoer probably wants to keep his job, Fudge got sacked for ignoring the threat, Scrimgoer probably wants to appear as if he's making some progress, even if he's not."

"We'd better go" said Hermione. "It's starting to get dark, and It's been a long day. We could hole up at the Hog's Head tonight."

"Why not Hogwarts?" asked Ron. Harry felt the same way. He remembered last year that Professor Trelawney had warned him about bedbugs there.

"I know it's hard to forget right now" she began "but it is summer.

"Oh." Ron looked like he rather dreaded going to bed that night. Once again, Harry quite felt the same.

"All right then." said Harry. "As much as I wish it weren't so, Hermione's probably right, and if she's wrong, we'll find out soon enough. Let's join hands again."

However they didn't, Ron actually seemed to draw back a little. "Oh, no. Not this time" he said. "Being dragged along feels terrible, and I think if we do that again I'll crack a rib! I really don't think you're supposed to side-along more than one person, I really don't. I think we can manage Hogsmeade."

Harry nodded. He had gotten used to dragging them along, he forgot that they both could apparate, and that Hermione even had a lisence. "All right then" he said. "See you there." And he disappeared with a crack. 


	6. Chapter 5: The Two Theives

Chapter 5: The Two Theives

Once again Harry opened his eyes shortly after Apparating. He looked around and was momentarily snowblinded. Once his vision came back he recognized the main street of Hogsmeade. He couldn't immediately see Ron and Hermione but that wasn't a surprise as he couldn't see very far as it was. It was indeed snowing very hard in hogsmeade, and he was standing in knee deep snow that was piled up in great drifts against the silent buildings.

Craning his neck around he caught sight of a dark shape moving towards him. He thought it was probably Ron or Hermione but to be safe he drew his wand. When the figure moved closer however, he put it away as he realized it was not Ron or Hermione, but Lupin. "Harry!" Lupin spoke in a harsh whisper. "Come, inside, follow me!" Harry realized he had apparated right in front of The Three Broomsticks. He followed Lupin down the road.

"Ron and Hermione are somewhere, we should find them." Harry said, but Lupin continued on. "They're already inside." Harry was a bit puzzled. How had they gotten inside before him? As he entered the relative warmth of the Hog's Head (It was a bit more chilly than he'd have preferred, anyway), Ron and Hermione ran over. "Balls, Harry! Where've you been?" said Ron. Harry noticed that they weren't covered in snow and realized what he had done differently. "We didn't think you'd Apparate outside, Harry, we just figured you'd come directly to the pub itself!"

"Thick, eh Harry?" said Ron with a smile as he rapped Harry on the forehead. "And are you okay?" Harry asked, mock concern on in his voice. "Got both eyebrows with you? Didn't leave a buttock behind?" "Piss off." said Ron, but he was smiling. "Seriously though, Harry" said Hermione "We were worried! We thought you'd gone off somewhere else! Lupin said you might have apparated outside, lucky he was right!"

They found a table and sat down, Lupin came over a bit later with a bottle of Firewhiskey and four very small glasses. As he poured for them, Harry rubbed his hands together and asked "How did you know I'd be outside?" Lupin smiled and said "You learned to apparate from Dumbledore, did you not? I'm sure one of the first things you learned was never to apparate directly into a person's home, and naturally you'd think the same way with a pub. These two gave me quite the startle when they appared.

Suddenly Ron didn't seem so keen on laughing at what he thought was Harry making a funny mistake. Hermione looked abashed. "Don't worry on it though," said Lupin "The Hog's Head isn't exactly a conventional place, you only startledme becuase I'm a bit on edge, as you'd imagine."

Harry took a long draught of firewhiskey, it burned his insides going down, but then he felt a glow in his belly, as though it had been filled with hot coals. He thought to himself that this stuff is a lot better when you're cold and wanting to get warm. "So," began Lupin. "What have you three been up to?" 

And they filled Lupin in on everything up to that point. When the tale was done, he leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his prematurely-grey hair. "Well, first I think I should fill you in on a few things. Firstly, as you've probably guessed, we've moved headquarters. We're now operating directly out of hogwarts. As of now it doesn't look like the school will be open for students come this fall, Minerva thought it was the logical place to operate out of, and I daresay I agree. Oh, she's running the Order now, that's another thing. Not quite the same touch that Dumbledore had, but I tend to agree that she's the best choice."

"What about the ministry?" asked Harry "Have they made any progress?" Lupin let out a harsh little laugh. "The ministry is busy chasing their own shadows to do anything real." Harry thought that would be the case. "And what about Professor Dumbledore's Will?" 

"Well, Harry, it's definately been discovered, they're going to read it up at the castle. It was his written wish that Ron and Hermione be present." All three of them looked shocked. Ron spluttered his third glass of firewhiskey (not counting however many at Horatio's house) down his front and began clumsily blotting at it with a napkin. Hermione slid the glass away from him and gave him a very clear 'That's quite enough for you' look.

"Ron and Hermione?" asked Harry, bewildered and a bit put-off. "What about me? Why would he ask for them but not me?" He was a bit worried that he might insult his friends, so he tried to keep his tone as light as possible. "Oh, Harry, don't feel hurt by that!" said Lupin "I think the exact wording was 'Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Ronald Weasley, In the stead of Mr. Harry Potter' I think it's to mean that he means to have left you something, but believes you won't be able to attend, but that your friends could fill in for you. I'm certain that it wasn't mean to be an insult, and if you decide that you could find it in your schedule to be there, you certainly won't be barred from attending."

Harry felt a little better, but also a tad confused. "Why did Dumbledore think that I'd be too busy to be there?" he wondered aloud. Obviously thinking he was being asked a direct question, Lupin responded "Well I suppose you'll be looking for that locket, wouldn't you? I don't suppose you'll tell me why you need it?" Harry felt conflicted. He knew he could trust Lupin, but wondered if he should tell Lupin about the Horcruces, thinking he might be able to help out. Before he could decide though, Lupin spoke again. "Nevermind Harry, I'm sure that when the time is right, we'll all know. I have a feeling that this is very important, and I have an idea that might help you find it."

Harry edged his chair closer, keen to hear whatever Lupin had to say about the matter. "Although it seems likely from what you've told me that this locket has indeed fallen into the hands of the enemy, you're not factoring in two key figures that might have derailed that already. If you remember, there are two individuals who were quite eager to get their hands on the many posessions of that house, for differing reasons."

It struck him like a blow, Kreacher! The wretch of a house-elf was constantly sneaking off with Black family heirlooms, trying to save them from the bin. They had tried to wrest as many as possible back from him, but it was indeed entirely possible that he had snuck off with that locket. "So you think Kreacher might have stolen the locket?" If that was the case, Harry thought, then it would be no problem! As Harry now owned Kreacher, he would simply order him to give it back.

"It's certainly possible Harry, but he's not the only one who could have stolen it." Harry thought for a bit, and then it came to him. "Mundungus Fletcher." Lupin nodded.

"It's a bit of a longshot, but it's possible that one of them stole that locket. If it was Kreacher, all you have to do is get it back, which should be easy. However if Mundungus took it, which I hate to say is more likely, then you'll have to track him down, which might not be easy."

"But isn't he in the Order?" Ron blurted out. Hermione punched him in the arm "Quiet, Ronald!" Ron looked embarrassed and rubbed his arm absently. Lupin lowered his head and his voice and spoke very low to Harry. "He's not anymore, Minerva expelled him after he stopped coming to meetings. He was useful in the past but he hasn't done anything lately but steal, so he's out." Harry hung his head. It did seem more likely that Mungdungus had stolen the locket, which might even mean that he had sold it to somebody. It could literally be anywhere. However, there was only one way to make sure.

"Kreacher!" Harry called, and before he knew it, the house elf had appeared, standing on the table, making a rude hand gesture apparently at no one. Seemingly disorientated by finding himself in a different place, he looked around wildly. "Master calls for Kreacher?"

"Yes Kreacher, I need to ask you something."

"Kreacher will answer any question that master asks him, filthy ungrateful master that he is..."

"Nevermind that!" said Harry.

"Who was this for?" Ron blurted out, demonstrating the hand gesture. Hermione grabbed his hand and stowed it under the table, giving him a rather severe look. "Sorry" ron muttered.

"The filthy blood traitor is asking Kreacher a question, Kreacher will prtend not to hear." Kreacher muttered to himself.

This incensed Harry, he was sick of this house elf, who was supposed to be his servant, insulting his friends. "No, you won't." He snapped at Kreacher.

Kreacher bowed low and muttered "Master tells Kreacher that he musn't ignore the blood traitor, filthy red headed scum that he is." 

"You'll also not insult my friends anymore Kreacher...or anybody else! As a matter of fact, the only people you're allowed to insult is...is yourself!" Harry felt satisfied as Kreacher immediately stopped muttering under his breath and gave Harry a look of deepest loathing. He glanced over at Hermione, who he thought might look reproachful, as she had always stood up for house elves. Hermione, however, looked as though she was barely suppressing a smirk.

"Right." said Harry "And another thing, Kreacher. You are to follow any orders given to you by Ron or Hermione, as if they came from me, do you understand?" Kreacher flapped his head in a nod, looking angrier every second. "And if I hear that you've been insulting them, or refusing to listen, then it'll mean clothes, Kreacher." Presenting a house elf with proper clothes was the only way to free them, and most house elves considered this akin to being sacked.

"Master will do as master wishes." Kreacher said "But Kreacher knows oh so much..." He had used this same tactic once on Sirius, whom Harry had inherited the elf from. However, Harry felt that Kreacher could no longer tell any Death Eaters anything they didn't already know. 

"I know a few things too, Kreacher" said Harry. "Spells, for instance. A few hexes...a jinx or two. Some curses, of the unforgiveable variety." He glanced over at Hermione, wondering if she might object to Harry clandestinly threatening a house elf with the Cruciatus curse, however she seemed to have momentarily gone deaf.

Kreacher didn't seem to have an answer to this, he stomped his foot petulantly and asked "What does master want of Kreacher?" 

"Back when were cleaning out Sirius'...I mean...when we were cleaning out my house, there was a locket we found in the drawing room. It had Salazar Slytherin's mark on it and would not open. Do you remember this locket?"

"Kreacher remembers this locket, a pricless heirloom of the great Slytherin."

Harry didn't care for Kreacher's commentary, but pressed on. "Did you take this locket Kreacher? We were throwing all that dark stuff out, as you well know. And as I know, you stole quite a lot of it to try and save. Did you take this locket, Kreacher? Don't lie to me, now."

Kreacher answered almost immediately "No, master. Kreacher wishes he had taken the locket, but it was taken by another." He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. 

Harry was rather disappointed. This seemed to confirm that Mungdungus had taken the locket.

"We should be sure." Said Hermione suddenly. Harry looked up at her quizzically. "We should be sure it was actually Mungdungus that took the locket."

"Who else would?" asked Ron.

"Well, although it seems that Mungdungus is our most likely suspect, there's also Snape. Although he wasn't around the house that day, we should make sure we aren't chasing the wrong man."

Harry was rather taken aback. He hadn't considered that Snape would have taken the locket, as Snape hadn't at that point revealed his true colors. "Well, it does seem unlikely" he said, "being that he wasn't around the headquarters much, and he definately wasn't there that day..." He turned to Kreacher "Who took the locket?"

Kreacher stomped his foot petulantly again and seemed to be thinking fast of a way to get out of answering. Finally, he said "A member of the Order, Master." 

"That's not good enough! I want to know the person's name!" 

There was another long pause as Kreacher wracked his brain, probably trying to find a way out of inplicating whoever had liberated Slytherin's locket from the bin. 

"Kreacher does not know, master. Kreacher is so sorry to not be able to tell master..."

Harry knew that was a load, and reacted quickly. "If you're lying, you have to punish yourself!" he said. Suddenly Kreacher ran accross the table, grabbed Ron's empty glass of firewhiskey and smashed it over his head. He looked angry and panicked, it had clearly been a very long time since he had punished himself.

"Now tell me the truth!" Harry shouted. Kreacher suddenly grinned at Harry and balled both of his fists together, punching himself in the groin. 

"Ouch!" said Ron, looking a bit green.

Kreacher was obviously in a lot of pain, but grinned again. It was clear that he would rather hurt himself than help Harry out.

Harry looked around for an idea, when he saw Lupin, who had remained quiet for some time. 

"You see this bloke here?" he said to Kreacher, jerking his thumb at Lupin. "Do you know who he is?" Kreacher flapped his head in a nod. It was clear that speaking would be difficult for him right now. "Very good, Kreacher. Do you know what he is?"

Hermione suddenly looked scandalized. "Harry! Shh, we're in public!" Lupin turned to her and said "Don't worry, this is the Hog's Head."

Nevertheless, Harry leaned forward, closer to Kreacher, who shied away from him slightly, and lowered his voice so that only the residents of this table could hear. "He's a werewolf, Kreacher. You know all about them, Kreacher?" Kreacher flapped an angry nod again. "Now, I don't know if he's quite developed a taste for house elf yet, but with the right sauces, I suppose..." He let himself trail off. He could see a slight smile on Lupin's face.

Kreacher grunted and spoke painfully "Master will do as master wishes." Great. It was clear that threatening Kreacher with being devoured by a werewolf wasn't going to do the trick, Kreacher was either willing to die, or didn't believe Harry would follow through on his threat.

Suddenly Hermione stood up and leaned accross the table, grabbing Kreacher by his loincloth and dragging him towards her. He gave out a yelp and tried to scramble away, but she held him tight. Then she lowered her head towards one of his filthy ears and whispered something. Harry couldn't hear it, but he saw Kreacher's eyes bulge out.

"Mungungus took the locket!" he said, and quickly disappeared with a crack.

There was silence for a while, which Ron eventually broke. "Hermione!" he croaked "What did you tell him?" 

"Oh!" she said, "Just exactly what I would do to him if he didn't answer right then. 

Ron and Harry exchanged a look. It was abundantly clear that Hermione had softened her stance on elf-rights in this case. 

"And what was that?" asked Ron, a grin spreading accross his face.

"I might tell you..." she said "...when you're a bit older."

Ron raised his eyebrows and said "You're mad!" but there was admiration in his voice. Hermione looked pleased. Harry, also was relieved that they finally had a solid lead on the locket, but at the same time felt dimly crushed. He wondered if it was at all possible that Mungdungus had sold the locket.

"Well!" said Lupin suddenly. "It looks like you have a bit to go on Harry, and don't worry. If you catch up with Mundungus and he has sold it, I'm sure you could persuade him to tell you to whom it went. And If you can't, I'm sure Miss Granger could! Now I'm off to bed, I reccomend you three do the same, it's been a long day and you need your rest.

Lupin staggered off upstairs, looking careworn and tired. Hermione got up and strode over to the wizened bartender, whom Harry got the feeling yet again that he somehow knew. She came back a bit later and said "I've got us rooms, Numbers six and nine." She passed Harry a key with a six on it. 

Harry didn't feel much like sleeping, but got up anyway and headed upstairs, hoping that Professer Trelawny had been wrong about the cleanliness of the beds at the Hog's Head Inn. 


	7. Chapter 6: Last Will And Testament

Chapter 6: Last Will And Testament

Despite being quite tired, Harry awoke early. The state of the bed and room that he had probably had something to do with that. As he came out of the room he found himself face to face with the elderly proprieter of the Hog's Head, who immediately grunted "Bath's broken." He ambled off and Harry shot upstairs to room Nine. He knocked on the door and heard Ron's sleepy voice answer to come in. 

"Blimey Harry, what is it with you two?" Ron said, bleary eyed as he stretched himself out of bed.

Harry looked around for someone else briefly, then said "Two?"

"You and Hermione, I swear, can't a body get a decent long sleep?" Apparently Hermione had already gotten up and was probably downstairs, having breakfast. "Any clue where the bath in this dump is?" asked Ron as he scratched his sides irritably. 

"Barman says it's broken" said Harry. 

"Bloody brilliant. I could kill Madam Rosmerta for getting herself imperiused and getting us stick in this hole."

"Well, kill her some other time, I'm going downstairs for breakfast."

"Be with you in a minute."

Harry bounded downstairs to find Hermione and Lupin at a table, talking quietly. Lupin saw him and waved him over. "Good morning, Harry, Hermione and I were just discussing some ideas that might help you." He pushed a plate of toast over at Harry who ate readily, giving Lupin a nod.

"Well," he said "The problem with tracking down Mungdungus Fletcher is that once he sees you Harry, he's apt to apprate right away. You roughed him up a bit last year, and he's not likely to stand around and chat."

"Great." said Harry. This was seeming more difficult as time went on. He felt a surge of anger again. How irresponsible for Dumbledore to allow Mungdungus to be in the order! "So, how am I supposed to get the blasted thing from him, if he even has it, when he's apt to pop off to Wales the minute he sees me?"

Hermione spoke up now "An anti-apparation jinx. It's our best bet. I think that if you hit him with one of those, you should be able to keep him in one spot long enough to get the locket."

"That's a good idea, Hermione, except what if he blocks it? If I try that and he gets away, he'll go so far underground that I'll never find him."

Ron had joined them now, he pulled up a chair and said to Hermione "Oi, budge up a bit"

"There's no room Ron, just go sit by Harry." Ron dragged the chair over rather grumpily and plopped down.

"I feel like I've been eaten alive last night. It's got to be breaking some sort of law, to run an Inn in this state. And what the hell is with the bath being broken? Right mess this is." Seemingly finished with his diatrabe, he grabbed a piece of toast and said "So, what's up?"

"We're trying to figure out how to keep Mungungus from disapparating so he can't escape." Harry explained "Hermione thnks an anti-appration jinx might do the trick, but I'm afraid he might block that."

"Well, I guess you're going to have to catch him unawares then" said Ron matter-of-factly. "You know, sneak up on him and hit him with it from behind."

"Yes." said Lupin, nodding. "And it would be best if it was done non-verbally.

"Er..." said Harry. He was not very good at performing spells without speaking.

"Well Hermione could do that." said Ron, grabbing more toast. "She's the best at non-verbal spells and could probably smack him with a jinx so as he wouldn't even know it!"

"Is this true?" asked Lupin. Hermione looked embarrassed, so Harry spoke "Yeah, it is. I'm no great shakes at nonverbal magic, haven't had enough practice really. But Hermione's got it down."

Before anything else could be said, the barman came over and said something to Lupin in a low voice, then walked over to the door and held it open.

"What, are we being chucked out?" asked Ron.

"Well, not quite Ron." said Lupin "We're going to go over to the school now, the will reading is going to begin in about a half-hour. He's closing up shop to head up there himself.

Harry remembered that the barman had been at Dumbledore's funeral, but wondered why he would be at the reading of Dumbledore's will. As they left, Lupin leaned towards them and explained in a low voice "That's his brother, you know. Not many people know that."

Ron and Hermione looked stunned. Harry though, smacked himself in the forehead. "Of course! That's Aberforth! No wonder he looks so familiar! I even saw his picture, Moody showed me. And no wonder the bloke always smells like goats, Dumbledore said something about him being prosecuted for improper charms on a goat once.

"That's sick." said Ron.

"I don't want to know!" said Hermione.

Lupin chuckled. "Keep that little tidbit to yourselves though, right? The last thing we want is for Death Eaters to make it so that there are no Inns in Hogsmeade.

He then stopped and turned to Harry. "So, Harry will you be joining us, or are you going to go look for Mungdungus?"

Harry thought carefully. Although part of him wanted very much to go to the reading, he knew that he should get a jump start on finding that locket. It was almost as though Dumbledore had forseen this possiblity, having Ron and Hermione invited in his stead. "No, you guys go on ahead." he said. "I'm going to go looking. I think I'll start asking around in bars and pubs and whatnot, someone is bound to know something."

"Brilliant idea, Harry!" said Hermione. Harry beamed, a compliment on intelligence from Hermione was sort of like Hagrid complimenting him on size. "Where will you start?" asked Lupin.

"The Leaky Cauldron." said Harry. Not that he thought it was a particuarly good place to start, but it was the only bar outside of Hogsmeade that he knew catered to wizards and witches. 

"Good idea of a start, Harry." said Lupin, smiling.

"Yeah," said Ron "and you could probably get a good poke around Diagon Alley while you're at it.

Harry nodded, that was definately a good idea. "See you around then" he said to his friends.

"Do be careful, Harry" said Hermione as she gave him a brief hug. Lupin shook his hand "The very best of luck, Harry" Finally Ron gave him a punch on the arm. "Don't go picking up any girls in these bars Harry, my sister might have a thing or two to say about it." Harry grinned and concentrated on the long street known as Diagon Alley. Then he turned, and disapparated.

"Well then!" said Lupin "Let's get moving, it's going to start very soon.

"It's going to be so weird to be at Hogwarts when it's summer." said Ron "Although," he added quickly "You couldn't tell it's summer of course."

The rest of the short trip unfolded in silence as they trudged slowly throught the knee deep snow up towards Hogwarts castle. Ron was reminded of the trip up to the castle last year when Katie Bell had been cused by an ancient opal necklace. As they approached the gates of Hogwarts, they saw a few other figures moving towards the castle. Some of them were unfamiliar but Ron saw the barman from The Hog's Head, as well as Nymphadora Tonks, who joined them silently, looping an arm through Lupin's and giving him a brief kiss. Ron looked at Hermione, who was smiling. Looks like they had taken the advice of Ron's mother after all.

He felt Hermione's arm encircle his and turned scarlet. This was something he was going to have to get used to. At the gates, they saw Professor McGonnagal, who was deeply wrapped up in tartan scarves and shawls, greeting oncomers. Hermione nudged Ron as they apprroached and whispered in his ear "Look at the castle, Ron. It's winter at Hogwarts also!" He turned to her, a bit confused and said "Well, what else did you expect?"

"Well I thought it might be like Horatio's house, you know? There's incredibally powerful magic here at Hogwarts and I'm sure that if Professor McGonnagal was able to repel this blizzard, then she would have. Do you know what this means?"

"Of course I don't know what it means, Hermione. I'm not you. Just tell me, will you?" She looked a bit put off, so Ron put his arm around her and said "C'mon, I don't mean to be snippy. It's cold, my toes are frozen, my arse feels like it's going to fall off, I'm not nearly as smart or insightful as you, okay?" Hermione looked at him with her very McGongal-ish eyes for a few more moments and then cracked a smile. "Okay, Ronald. It means that whatever magic is protecting that one area at Godric's Hollow is more powerful than the magic protecting Hogwarts. Or at least it's more keyed to stopping Voldemort." 

Ron had to admit he was getting used to hearing the name. He barely flinched that time. "Well, you know that makes me think..." he said slowly "Harry was doing spells without a wand, do you think that's something he could always do, but didn't know it, like how he speaks parseltongue? Or is it because of that bubble?"

Hermione thought it over and then finally said "It could be either, really. Or it could be both, Ron. Think about it! Maybe Harry had that ability deep within him, and visiting that area caused it to sort of, I don't know...surge out?"

"Brilliant, as always." said Ron. Hermione smiled and managed to hold him a bit closer, while still trudging towards the gate.

At the gate, they were greeted by Professor McGonnagal, who surprisingly enough, was smiling. "Hello Remus, Nymphadora!" she said, wringing their hands. "Please, Minerva..." Tonks began. "Yes, yes, Tonks, I keep forgetting how much you don't like your name. And ah, Mister Weasley and Miss Granger. Albus' final wishes were quite explicit that you two attend."

"I suppose we're supposed to be subbing for Harry?" asked Hermione. "I can't think of what Professor Dumbledore would have wanted to leave us in his will."

"Well, I'm sure it will all be clear shortly." Said Professor McGonnagal. "Anyway, as you four are the last to arrive, please follow me up to the castle.

They started off, but suddenly Ron called out "Er, Professor McGonnagal?"

"Yes Mister Weasley?"

"Do you think, er...If we had time, we might be able to stop off, and you know, erm...visit Professor Dumbledore?"

Professor McGonnagal's eyes misted up a bit and she nodded. "Yes, Mister Weasley, I think we do have time to visit the tomb.

At Dumbledore's tomb, the five figures stood solemnly, heads bowed. Ron felt a sudden sadness thinking that many people's following years at hogwarts, including his final year, would be marked by the constant sadness that only the sight of a tomb could bring on. If the school was even open, it would certainly be difficult to have any sort of fun with the white tomb on the grounds. Ron thought back to his relatively carefree days at Hogwarts and thought, for the first time since he came of age last year, of himself as an adult. He wondered if the passage into adulthood was supposed to be full of sorrow, and whether or not he ever would recapture the feelings he experienced in those days.

Hermione, who's face was streaming with silent tears, turned to Professor Mcgonagal and quietly asked if there was any plans to reopen the school.

"We have decided that it is best if the school remain open." she said quietly "However I doubt there will be very many students left to teach, as without Albus, the school is not considered to be the stronghold it once was."

As they all seemed to make the silent decision that this was the time to leave, they started up towards the castle again, while Hermione asked "What about the staff? Will you still teach Transfiguration and head Gryffindor house? And what about Defense Against The Dark Arts?"

Professor McGonnagal heaved a sigh and said "I will continue to teach, however it is improper for a headmistress to belong to one of the school houses, So I delegated the role of head of Gryffindor house to Professor Sinestra. As for the Defense Against The Dark Arts post, we are still looking." She said no more on the subject.

After entering the catle, they silently climbed the stone steps towards the Great Hall, which was absent of the usual long house tables, and instead had a number of wooden chairs, all facing towards the long staff table, at which sat a few elderly wizards. Professor McGonnagal left them to sit at the Head's seat, while Ron, Hermione, Lupin and Tonks quietly found seats. 

As they sat, Ron leaned over towards Lupin and whispered "Why don't you come back and teach Defense? I'm sure the few people who will send their children to Hogwarts won't care if you're a werewolf very much, and you were the best teacher we had." Lupin smiled faintly "I'm afraid I'm a bit too busy with my work for The Order, Ron. But thanks for the vote of confidence nevertheless."

After a while, the quiet whispering between the residents of the Great Hall died down and one of the wizards at the staff table stood up and cleared his throat. Ron recognized him as the man who spoke at Dumbledore's funeral.

The man cleared his throat loudly once more and spoke "I would first of all like to thank you all for coming here under such short notice. I hope your trips have been safe, as it is so very dangerous to travel these days...I daresay it shows a strong devotion by each of you for the late Albus Dumbledore to brave the journey here today. Let's get started, shall we?"

He then picked up a scroll of parchment and flattened it out, clearing his throat one more time. "Firstly we have the matter of Professor Dumbledore's vault at Gringotts, which was counted and tallied at just over eleven hundred galleons." At this Ron raised his eyebrows in disbelief. He thought Dumbledore would have had more money than that. "Seven Hundred Galleons are to be left to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." 

Several people in the small audience applauded. Dumbledore's devotion to the school continued even after he was dead, it seemed. "Two Hundred Galleons shall be left to Ms. Minerva McGonnagal." There was another, smaller smattering of applause and Ron saw Professor McGonnagal drying her eyes. "The remaining two hundred Galleons and odd change shall be left to Mr. Harry Potter." More scattered applause. Ron turned to Hermione and asked "What, do we stand up or something?" 

"No, I don't think so, Ron. Professor McGonnagal didn't, I suppose we'll have to arrange everything after the reading."

"Blimey though, he didn't leave anything to Horatio! I wonder why?"

"I suspect it's becuase nobody's supposed to know about him." Hermione said wisely. Ron had to admit that it looked like Horatio lived in comfort, so it probably wasn't that big of a deal.

As the afternoon wore on, the man read off who would receive several of Dumbledore's worldly possessions. It seems that everyone that arrived recieved at least one thing. At one point, Herminoe had to get up to accept, in Harry's stead, a ring that they suspected was a former Horcrux. It looked as if the ring and the money would be the only things Harry would be inheriting until they heard Harry's name again.

"Finally, To Mr. Harry Potter..." The man trailed off and coughed. Ron waited anxiously for the rest of the sentance, but it never came. Instead the man examined the document carefully, even holding it up to the light as if to verify it's authenticity. Professor McGonnagal came over and they both looked at the document, and Ron distinctly saw her eyes widen in surprise. He leaned forward and heard snatches of their muttering which contained such phrases as "highly unusual" and "unprecedanted"

After what seemed like an eternity of this, Ron's patience finally broke and he called out "Well, what is it?" Hermione nudged him, and he saw Professor McGonnagal's nostril's flare a bit, but it did seem to finally get things going, as Dumbledore's executor finally looked up and said. "Dumbledore has left Mr. Potter his pensieve." 

There were several gasps and a load of muttering from the crowd. Ron looked over at Hermione and said "What's the fuss?" Hermione looked excited "Don't you see, Ron? That's all of Dumbledore's memories and thoughts, that's very private. I don't think any wizard has ever left their pensieve to another in their will. Usually they are destroyed to respect the deceased's privacy!" "Bloody hell!" said Ron "Then why's Dumbledore want to leave his to Harry?" 

"Think for once, Ron. It's to help him track down the rest of the..." she let herself trail off, thinking it unwise to say the word "Horcrux" out loud at the moment. They looked up finally and saw teh executor beckoning to them. Hermione got up and was presented with a rather large box, which she tried to lift up unsuccessfully. "Ron!" she called accross the great hall and several people tittered as Ron dashed accross to help her.

"This thing is heavy!" he said as they carried it back towards their chairs. "Oh really?" Hermione said sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed!" 


End file.
